Songs that justify E

Doctroid

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 6, 2009
Messages
286
Reaction score
1
Location
Syracuse, NY
I'm going to be teaching some ukulele classes and we'll be covering the E chord (and several of the tricks/variants/downright cheats that can be used). But I'm thinking... if I'm going to make them play E, I'd better make them feel like it's worth it, right? In other words, give them a couple really good songs that depend on E.

So that's my question: What would you say are the absolutely best (in your own humble opinion, of course) songs that of necessity use the E chord?

What are the songs that make the effort worthwhile?

BONUS QUESTION: Same thing for Eb.

(And of course there are ways to just avoid E entirely, like transposing for instance. But that just evades the question (and sometimes creates other problems).)
 
I think it is very individual.
What makes it worth it is that particular song that you just really badly want to learn. And that is not the the same song.
 
Yes, it's individual. So what, for you as an individual, was that song?
 
Yes what Bill1 told, plus also any song that is already in E-key to start with. Not so many as C is maybe the most popular key.
We are not talking about guitar blues as that is not imo an ukulele thing. If blues maybe an other key on uke ;)

Doctroid, teach them also 1x02 fingering, my fave with index finger muting the C-string.

Because I am new to ukulele, I also just today learned 4320 for non barre B7.
 
Last edited:
OK fine. This is what I hate about forums: When you ask a simple question and the replies you get are "I'm not going to answer your question, instead I'm going to tell you what to do." Fine. Forget it.
 
For me it was Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Under the Bridge. If I want to play the intro I need to not transpose it (or I run out of frets on my soprano uke) so it was a great one for seeing the value of the E chord!
 
This thread speaks to the fundamental issue of why you DON'T want to transpose sometimes. It can change the voicings and just not sound right. The licks or embellishments may fall less comfortably to play. But also certain keys have a tonal characteristic that you lose by transposing to a different key, so transposing isn't always the best option. Anyway, your thread got me thinking about what songs really need that E and my first thought was something bluesy. How 'bout "Nobody knows you" in G aka Clapton style. You need that E, then the E7.
 
Last edited:
Yes, it's individual. So what, for you as an individual, was that song?

I remember struggling with the E chord on Bob Dylan's "One more cup of coffee", But I reckon that few people desire to learn that particular song.
I guess that going through some Beatles songs or something else popular at campfires, looking for E chords, will be worth while. I don't have a song book handy though.
Sorry for posting without any good suggestions.

Edit:
Just found this cool webpage though:
http://www.songkeyfinder.com/songs-in-key/e-major?page=2
 
Last edited:
I'll have to say that I don't entirely understand the question being posed here and some of the comments.... "the E chord"? There's more than one way to form chords, so, shouldn't that choice be dictated by the context you're using it in? Is there a "standard" E chord I'm not getting, that everyone implicitly understands by the word "the", rather than "a" or "an"?

When figuring out chord melody versions for tunes, I configure it (usually) so that the melody note of whatever chord is on top (or when I'm playing the melody somewhere other than on top, make the chords all follow so that the melody's always in line with itself, wherever it is...) the point being, the chords by the same names can be played with the notes in different places. Don't people do it that way for the most part when they accompany themselves?

I was reluctant to enter this thread, as one who neither strums nor sings along, nor plays with conventional uke tuning, but the title, that is, the concept of "justifying E", made me very curious.

bratsche
 
I'll have to say that I don't entirely understand the question being posed here and some of the comments.... "the E chord"? There's more than one way to form chords, so, shouldn't that choice be dictated by the context you're using it in? Is there a "standard" E chord I'm not getting, that everyone implicitly understands by the word "the", rather than "a" or "an"?

When figuring out chord melody versions for tunes, I configure it (usually) so that the melody note of whatever chord is on top (or when I'm playing the melody somewhere other than on top, make the chords all follow so that the melody's always in line with itself, wherever it is...) the point being, the chords by the same names can be played with the notes in different places. Don't people do it that way for the most part when they accompany themselves?

I was reluctant to enter this thread, as one who neither strums nor sings along, nor plays with conventional uke tuning, but the title, that is, the concept of "justifying E", made me very curious.

bratsche

The common way to play E major with gCEA tuning is 2444. That is a bit tricky.
The next possible way up the fret is probably 7444, which will not sound easy either to a beginner strummer, who plays most chords as close to the headstock as possible, preferable with some open strings.
Hence taking on the E major is a bit of a task for a beginner, and you might have to convince him/her why not to just avoid that chord.
Perhaps focusing on 3 string versions of the chord would be easier.
 
Last edited:
Ubulele, don't get me wrong, I transpose often, or capo. As a beginner, I transposed all the time. Sometimes though , I was surprised that songs didn't sound right when I just hit that transpose button and put a song in a different key. Anyway, down the road, I now appreciate why things are in a certain key. That doesn't mean that I don't transpose or capo because sometimes the difference in sound (at least to my ears, and certainly as a beginner) is not enough to justify my not making it easier on myself.
 
OK fine. This is what I hate about forums: When you ask a simple question and the replies you get are "I'm not going to answer your question, instead I'm going to tell you what to do." Fine. Forget it.
I had to laugh when I saw your response. I recently asked a question on AGF (I play guitar), why folks capoed rather than transpose. Who knew it would be such a controversial subject. It got a few thousand views and many pages of posts. Many telling you what you should do, rather than offering you insights on why it makes a difference (some were extremely helpful and gave me a greater understanding of the issue).
 
Last edited:
But the simplest answer really is to transpose songs into A, Bb, Eb or E. Take any lowest-common-denominator songbook, like The Daily Ukulele: the songs are only occasionally in the "best" keys—mostly they were forced into one of the "easy" keys instead, so transposition may improve them in the aspects bunnyf mentioned. Most of the chords for A are shared with D; most of the chords for Bb are shared with F. Why the whinging when you got your answer and to spare??

Agree with everything written here.
 
On related note, when I arrange for ukulele and voice, I keep two items in the forefront. First, the vocal range (as it is the melody in this case) and next the key. This allows me to choose any of 5 (major keys) most of the time (C, G, F, A, and D). That gives you most of the range options you would need to have. As a classically trained musician with a PhD in music, I understand the thought behind choice of key, which could be intentional or pragmatic (Bach, for example, composed in specific keys for which the organ at the church was in tune). There are great arguments for keeping things in original keys--particularly with classical music...until you start figuring in the changing nature of intonation and how A has changed over the years.

At any rate, I can also move a song to Bb, as Eb is easy enough to play on the ukulele. But I do try to avoid songs that require an E.

My only gripe about The Daily Ukulele is that most songs are too low. Our local ukulele jams attempt to have people transpose on the fly...but in reality, a lot of people just need to play the chords they see.

As for E, the only song that I regularly play that comes across it is "My Favorite Things," which switches from an Em chord to a E in the third verse. I often jump to 4447 when playing it, as the higher sounding chord is as much of an audio "surprise" as the major chord...it seems to work.

The E Chord also shows up in my Hal Leonard Hymns for Ukulele "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," printed in the 1402 variety...and what is funny is that I just play it without thinking about it.

All that said, I don't stop practicing the E chord in its various formations--and I am one of those players currently working on learning all the positions of all of the standard chords on the ukulele (jazz chords...another story), as well as picking up ability in fingerstyle and chord melody (closely related but not the same).

I don't try to convert all E to Em or E7 (as suggested by some), and my musical training and practice involves some level of stubbornness that if a song requires a chord, that I am going to play it. That said, I do see many instances of major chords used in songbooks or charts where the Dominant 7th should be used, and I'm not afraid to play the (harmonically) right chord in that instance.

So...I have offered a couple of song where I see E, as well as discussed my own thoughts on use of key...covering all the bases of answering the original question and going slightly off-topic or beyond topic at the same time. :)
 
An easy E song (not to be confused with an Eazy-e song such as "Gimmie That Nutt") is "I Love Rock and Roll"; it is just a blues progression in E
 
C'mon man, every song ever written in a major key can be transposed to E.
Justification? Do we need any? Really?
We use key changes to maximise either our voice or playing limitations/abilities on our instruments
of choice since time immemorial, right?
 
Top Bottom